HOT OR COLD – NO HALF MEASURES ACCEPTABLE! - Revelation 3:14-22

3rd of the 11th month 2014/2015

Shabbat Shalom all,

Mattithyahu/Matthew 6:24 “No one is able to serve two masters, for either he shall hate the one and love the other, or else he shall cleave to the one and despise the other. You are not able to serve Elohim and mammon.”

Our Master and Elohim, יהושע Messiah, made it very clear to us that no one is able to serve Him and still try to serve the desires and lusts of the flesh and the chasing after wealth! The word ‘mammon’ is of Aramaic origin, rendered in Greek as μαμωνᾶςmamōnas – Strong’s G3126 meaning, ‘wealth, riches’, where it is personified and is directly opposed to Elohim. It is a comprehensive word used for all kinds of possessions, earnings, and gains, or a designation of material value, and is personified as the mighty one of materialism.

Messiah continues on from these words and tells us not to worry about our life, what we will eat or drink, or about our body, what we will put on, and encourages us to recognise that He knows what we need and that we are to seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness and all these things shall be added to us, as the Father knows what we need! Sadly we find the ‘needs of the life and body’ often consume a person to the point where they end up chasing wealth in order to satisfy their worries of tomorrow, which we are told not to worry about as today has enough evil of itself. In the process of placing emphasis on material things many become distracted from their need to be seeking the reign of Elohim and His righteousness; and in the process they lack the required zeal for complete set-apartness and allow compromise to become an acceptable norm in their daily lives, while assuming that they are indeed true worshippers of Elohim, yet when measured up against the clear plumb-line of the Truth, they are simply found to be mediocre half-hearted wanna-be believers that arrogantly claim that they have no need to change their lives and walk in the called for set-apartness unto Elohim. One day they will be extremely zealous to do what is right and seek Elohim with their all, especially when things are not going their way, while the next day (or month) they drift away from serving as they should and fall into a compromised state that they are unable to recognise as being wrong, and carry on in their mediocre attempt at worshipping our Master and Elohim! Circumstances will often play a huge role in determining their acts of worship, or their lack thereof. Tonight in a message called, ‘HOT OR COLD – NO HALF MEASURES ACCEPTABLE!’, I would like us to hear the clear words of our Master and Elohim, in a clear warning given to those who are lukewarm as we look at the message given to the assembly in Laodikeia. Please turn with we to Ḥazon/Revelation 3:14-22 (Read)

Before we dig a little deeper into the words of this message I thought that it would be best to give a little more detail about this city of Laodikeia, which will help us to further understand the clear rebuking words given to the believers here from a loving Saviour!

ΛαοδίκειαLaodikeia – Strong’s G2993 means, ‘justice of the people’, which comes from two words: 1) - λαόςlaos – Strong’s G2992 which means, ‘people, nation, tribe’, and 2) - δίκηdike – Strong’s G1349 which means, ‘vengeance, judgement, punishment, penalty’. The people of this city were certainly receiving a clear penalty and judgement that would come for their lukewarmness, along with an urgent call to be ardent and repent so that they could dine with the Master and rule with Him or risk being vomited out for being mediocre and lukewarm!

Laodikeia was a city that was situated some 80km SE of Philadelphia. The city was originally known as Diospolis, which means, ‘city of Zeus’, and then became Rhoas and finally received its name from Antiochus II in honour of his wife Laodice. There were several cities with that name but this was distinguished by the addition of “on the Lycas”, as it was built on the river lycas. It was approximately 17km west of Colossae and 10 km south of Hierapolis and 160km east of Ephesos.

It was a very wealthy city, with its trade consisting mainly in the manufacture of glossy black wool from the unique “black sheep of Laodikeia”, as well as its production of their world famous eye salve that was developed from a rock in the area and crushed into a pulp and made into a salve. There was a large medical centre that was noted for its study of the structure, functions and diseases of the eye. This eye salve was distributed worldwide to cure eye and ear diseases and infections. This city was also an important centre for banking and exchange, being situated on the main roads linking Ephesos and Asia. The area was very prone to earthquakes, like Sardis, and when it was destroyed in 60 C.E., Emperor Nero offered to rebuild the city, but refusing his help by stating that they were rich and not in need of aid, they declined imperial assistance to rebuild the city and restored it from their own means. The site had one disadvantage – being determined primarily by the road systems, it lacked sufficient and permanent supply of good water. Water was piped from the Hot Springs of Hierapolis that was nearby and it arrived lukewarm, and being full of minerals which made people nauseous. The water that was piped to Laodikeia was rich with calcium, which over time would cause the pipes to clog, and needed to be cleaned on a regular basis. Hierapolis was widely known for its healing hot springs and pools. There were many natural hot baths in homes as well as gigantic natural hot public baths which attracted people from all over to come to a city known for its healing powers and many came to the hot baths seeking cure for arthritis and other ailments and diseases.

Hierapolis was also a centre for the false worship of the roman emperor Domitian who was one of the first emperors to declare himself divine. A large gate and entrance to the city was built in honour of Domitian and like most city gates of the ancient world, the gates of the Hierapolis expressed the people's devotion to their deities or rulers. Thus anyone who entered the Domitian Gate was in a sense acknowledging that Domitian was their mighty one who was their provider and protector and whom they would honour and obey above all others.

This would have certainly caused a great deal of distress for early believers who would clearly have to choose to serve and worship Caesar (in this case Domitian) or יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl.

Hierapolis was also the site of the Apollo Temple and Plutonium, where their mighty one of music, prophecy, and light was worshiped. Inside the temple, a grand fountain called Nymphia was a constant reminder to the people that Apollo was supposed to be their source of life. Next to the temple was a mysterious hole in the ground known as the Plutonium, the Devil's Hole, or the Gates of Hades. It was believed to be an entrance to the underworld where Pluto (Latin) or Hades (Greek) lived. Poisonous gases emanated from the hole and instantly killed any animals that wandered in. But the priests of Apollo, who apparently held their breath or had some other means of breathing fresh air, amazed the people by going into the hole and coming out again unharmed, seeming to have power over death.

In contrast to Hierapolis, the ancient city of Colossae was known for its cold water and was built at the foot of Mt.Cadmus, which towered more than nine thousand feet high. Colossae was known for a peculiar wool of purple colour called collossinus and for its many ice-cold snow-and-rain-fed streams that rushed down from the snow-covered peak of Mt.Cadmus. People in the fertile LycusRiverValley commonly talked about this wonderful, invigorating water.

Founded several hundreds of years before the Hierapolis, Colossae’s inhabitants worshiped many false mighty ones, including Artemis, Athena, and Demeter. The city was in serious decline by the time of Sha’ul and Yoḥanan because of the growth of Laodicea and Hierapolis, and in his letter to Colossae Sha’ul expresses his urgent concern for Colossae, Hierapolis and Laodikeia. It was the home of his friend Pileymon/Philemon, and his slave Onesimus.

Qolasim/Colossians 2:1 “For I wish you to know what a great struggle I have for you and those in Laodikeia, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh”

Qolasim/Colossians 4:13 “For I bear him witness that he has a deep concern for you, and for those who are in Laodikeia and those in Hierapolis.”

The people here also worshipped ‘heavenly messengers’ (angels) and even believed that Michael, the chief messenger, saved them from a flood, and Sha’ul warned the believers here to not be led astray in false worship of messengers:

Qolasim/Colossians 2:18 “Let no one deprive you of the prize, one who takes delight in false humility and worship of messengers, taking his stand on what he has not seen, puffed up by his fleshly mind”

During the first century, the city of Laodikeia was the richest and most powerful of the three cities. Despite its prosperity, however, Laodikeia had a serious problem. Its water, unlike the healing hot springs of Hierapolis or the fresh, cold mountain water of Colossae, was lukewarm and full of minerals. It tasted so bad that it made people sick.

In understanding this region a little better and the various waters that existed within close proximity to each other we are able to see a clearer meaning to the words that Yoḥanan was told to speak to the believers at Laodikeia. In a manner of speaking the words of our Master could have clearly expressed the following:

“If you were hot, like the springs of Hierapolis, you’d be zealous for me and bring healing, restoration, and comfort to people who suffer. If you were cold, like the water in Colossae, you’d refresh and encourage people who are hurting. Instead, you are lukewarm. You don’t do anyone any good and you make me sick - just like your own water.”

Let us take heed to this clear rebuke and warning given here and take a closer look at some of Greek words we find in this text. First up we must take note of the introduction, as it carries with it a clear message, as does each introduction that is given to each of the 7 assemblies, as it makes a clear identification to the hearers of these words who it is that is speaking to them:

The Aměn, the Trustworthy and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of Elohim

יהושע Messiah clearly introduces Himself firstly as The Aměn, and makes a clear and vital statement here! The people here were serving their own fleshly desires and relied upon their own wealth and support, and by default were not worshipping Elohim but were worshipping mammon. Mammon, as mentioned earlier, is a word of Aramaic origin which is thought to possibly come from the root verb אָמַןaman – Strong’s H539 which means, ‘to confirm, support, believe, trustworthy’, and basically speaks about the one in which you put your trust! Is it in wealth and riches of the world or is it in our Mighty Master and Elohim – The Aměn? In Yeshayahu Aměn is used as a clear reference to a title of Elohim as we see in:

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 65:16 “so that he who blesses himself in the earth does bless himself in the Elohim of truth. And he who swears in the earth does swear by the Elohim of truth. Because the former distresses shall be forgotten, and because they shall be hidden from My eyes.”

The Hebrew word translated here as ‘truth’ and in other translations as ‘trustworthiness’ is the adverb אָמֵןaměn- Strong’s H543 which means, ‘truly, verily, truth, so be it’, and from the root verb we get the Hebrew word for ‘truth’ which is אֱמוּנָהemunah – Strong’s H530 which means, ‘firmness, steadfastness, faithfulness, stability, trust, truthful’. יהושע Messiah was making it clear here to the believers in Laodikeia that He is the True One who is to be trusted and who is faithful and trustworthy!

In Bemiḏbar/Number 5:11-31 we are given the Torah of jealousy, whereby the accused woman would have to say ‘aměn, aměn’ (verse 22)to acknowledge that she has heard and accepts what has been spoken and written.

After hearing the effect of the curse that would come upon the woman if she was guilty, she would say, ‘Aměn, aměn’, which was an acknowledgment and acceptance of what was being proclaimed, and therefore making the clear statement that what had been spoken was understood! The believers in Laodikeia were getting the clear words of our Master that were to be clearly understood, and having been rebuked they were now severely warned that if they would not repent and change they would be destroyed – for the Truth has been spoken and made clear!

Aměn is also often translated as ‘trust’; and so we see that to trust or believe implies an action and not just a thought; but rather in one’s acknowledgment of what has been written in the Word, the confirmation of one’s ‘aměn’ implies that there will be an active trust and belief in doing what the Word says!

יהושע asks the question in Luqas/Luke 18:8 whether He would find belief on the earth when He comes again – in other words, when He comes again – will he find people who are actively obeying His commands, calling on His Name, keeping His Feasts, living according to His dietary instructions and walking according to His Torah etc.

So many people today use the term ‘aměn’ very loosely and yet they do not understand what this implies and signifies!

The ancient pictographic script has this letter pictured as , which is ‘the head of an ox’, and represents ‘strength’, meaning ‘muscle’ as the ox is the strongest of the livestock animals. This also carries the meaning of ‘yoke’, as an ox is placed in a yoke in order to plough or pull a heavy load in the right direction. This can also picture for us the ‘red heifer’ sacrifice that יהושע Messiah fulfilled!

Mem – מֵ:

The ancient pictographic script has this letter pictured as , which is ‘water’, and also carries the meaning of ‘chaos’ (from the storms of the sea) and can also picture that which is mightyor massive as well as the unknown. We are also able to understand this letter as representing the nations, for the nations are often likened to the seas in Scripture. This also pictures that which washes and we know that The Word is likened to the Living Waters that cleanse, as represented in the water that was used in the Tabernacle, which the priests would, from the water in the bronze laver, wash their hands and feet with.

Nun – ן:

The ancient pictographic script has this letter pictured as , which pictures a ‘sprouting seed’ and gives the idea of continuation or an offspring or an heir, speaking of that which sprouts forth will be the heir of the promise of continuation, and represents one’s life expectancy.

There are a few powerful pictures that we are able to interpret from the pictographic construction of this word אָמֵןaměn, especially as we acknowledge and confirm our acceptance of the Word of our Master and Elohim, and that He is the Aměn.

Messiah, our Head and our strength, has come and given us His easy yoke, as He passed through the waters in order to wash us and redeem us from the chaos of sin, as He is The Seed of the Promise that was born of a maiden (virgin), and in our immersion in Him we are given life and the assurance of our expectation of everlasting life, as co-heirs of the promise!

The waters of Laodikeia could not cleanse them of their worldly ways – only the True Aměn – The Elohim of Truth can cleanse and restore – but those who do not become ardent and repent will find themselves being vomited out of the presence of the true Aměn – the One in whom we are to trust!

While many are saying aměn today, in their ‘assumed innocence’, they are simply ‘puffed up’ in a falsely twisted knowledge as they have whored away from the Truth, and are wasting away in their sin/lawlessness; while those who are indeed a faithful remnant who endure in their confession of faith in the Master, as seen in their belief with works of obedience, shall indeed be found to have the seed of His Word firmly planted in – the seed that will cause the faithful to inherit everlasting life, when the Master comes in the day of His visitation!

Sha’ul was right to be concerned about the believers here, as they were being greatly influenced by the world’s ways and desire for riches that do not profit, and the reliance of self, which as a result caused them to become lukewarm in their belief! The Greek word for ‘lukewarm’ is χλιαρόςchliaros – Strong’s G5513 which means, ‘tepid, lukewarm’, and is used in Scripture as a metaphor for the condition of the soul that wretchedly fluctuates between apathy, or lack of interest, and a fervour or zeal for the true love of Elohim. In other words this is used a metaphor for people who continually change from being unconcerned for spiritual matters and grow cold in their obedience to being very passionate and on fire for the truth! To be lukewarm does not necessarily mean to be stuck in the middle so to speak or be indecisive, but can also represent a continued fluctuation between compromise and obedience!!! Many claiming believers today are indeed lukewarm, which is often more difficult to overcome than being completely alienated from the Truth, for the half-hearted are vomited out!

The Greek word for ‘hot’ is ζεστόςzestos – Strong’s G2200 which means, ‘boiling hot’, and is used as a metaphor for ‘fervour of mind, and zeal’, and comes from the root verb ζέωzeō – Strong’s G2204 which means, ‘to be hot, fervent, have a zeal for what is good or bad, to boil’, and is equivalent to the Hebrew word קָנָאqanah – Strong’s H7065 meaning, ‘to be jealous or zealous, be envious, ardent’. Sha’ul tells us to be ardent in spirit:

One can be ‘hot’ or zealous for that which is good or what is evil, and so we are able to see that while we are encouraged and instructed to be ardent ‘hot’ for the Master is serving Him in Spirit and Truth, we also recognise that there are many who are ‘hot’ for doing evil:

Miḵah/Micah 7:2-3 “The kind one has perished from the earth, and there is no one straight among men. All of them lie in wait for blood, everyone hunts his brother with a net. 3Both hands are on the evil, to do it well. The prince asks for gifts, the judge seeks a bribe, and the great man speaks the desire of his being. And they weave it together.”

Just as many of the inhabitants in Heliopolis were ‘hot’ for their false mighty ones, we must take heed to be ‘hot’ and zealous for the Truth and cling to our Master – The Aměn!

Romiyim/Romans 12:9 “Let love be without hypocrisy. Shrink from what is wicked, cling to what is good.”

The Greek word for ‘cold’ is ψυχρόςpsuchros – Strong’s G5593 and is understood as being a metaphor for ‘sluggishness’, and comes from the verb ψύχωpsuchō – Strong’s G5594 which means, ‘wax cold’ and is used as a metaphor for waning love, as seen in:

Mattithyahu/Matthew 24:12 “And because of the increase in lawlessness, the love of many shall become cold.”

This word is also used to represent the giving of sustenance and refreshment to the needy:

Mattithyahu/Matthew 10:42 “And whoever gives one of these little ones a cup of cold wateronly in the name of a taught one, truly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

Here we are therefore able to see a twofold meaning of the term ‘cold’, and in reference to being cold, in that the people were growing cold due to lawlessness and sin, they began relying on themselves and had no need for their trust to be in The Aměn as they trusted in their own means!

The believers or rather lukewarm believers said that they were rich enough and were clearly arrogant in their claims to be self-made businessmen who did not need anyone’s assistance or guidance; and they showed no praise for Elohim who is the one who gives us the ability to get wealth:

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 8:18 “But you shall remember יהוה your Elohim, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is today.”

They assumed that they were in no need, as they relied on worldly possessions and positions of prominence in the world to determine their success, and Ephrayim, in speaking of the scattered tribes of the House of Yisra’ĕl, used the same words:

Hoshěa/Hosea 12:8 “And Ephrayim says, “Indeed, I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself. In all my labours they shall find in me no crookedness that is sin.”

When people’s eyes are fixed on materialism they are unable to see clearly and are unaware and blind to their crookedness and sin, thinking that they are blessed and have the wealth to prove it! Messiah makes it clear to these lukewarm believers that they were focused on the wrong things and were putting their trust in their own riches which can never save!

Sha’ul tells us clearly in:

Pilipiyim/Philippians 4:19 “And my Elohim shall fill all your need according to His riches in esteem by Messiah יהושע.”

יהושע tells us clearly in Yoḥanan/John 15:5-6 that without Him we are able to do nought, and if anyone does not stay in Him they are thrown away and are burned!! The words given here to Laodikeia are no different – if you think you are fine on your own – well then I have news for you…!!!

Wretched, pitiable, poor blind and naked!!! This assembly had become proud and measured things by human standards instead of spiritual values. They may have had beautiful clothes but יהושע urged them to wear white robes of righteousness which would cover their spiritual nakedness, in contrast to the famous black wool garments from the region. He then exhorted them to put salve on their eyes, and this was not the salve common to the city but rather the ‘heavenly eye salve’ – that is the ointment of the spiritual matters that are from above that can only be spiritually discerned. These people were living in a fool’s paradise and were blind to reality – pretty much the state of many claiming believers today.

The Greek word for ‘blind’ is τυφλόςtuphlos – Strong’s G5185 which can mean, ‘to be physically or mentally blind’, and comes from the word τυφόωtuphoō – Strong’s G5187 which means, ‘to be conceited, foolish, arrogance, vanity, to be lifted up with pride, high-minded’. It can also render the understanding of being enveloped with smoke and blinded so as not to see.

Luqas/Luke 12:15 “And He said to them, “Mind, and beware of greed, because one’s life does not consist in the excess of his possessions.”

The word ‘mind’ in this warning given is the word ὁράωhoraō – Strong’s G3708 which means, ‘to see, perceive, attend to, take heed, see with the mind, beware, to see as in becoming acquainted with by experience’, and we are to take heed that we do not fall prey to the corruption of man’s rules and regulations regarding a form of worship that runs contrary to the Truth and watch out that we don’t get sucked into the need to gain possessions – because our life does not consist in the excess of possessions!

יהושע came to bring us a recovery of sight – by manifesting the very Truth in the Flesh, separating the light from the dark:

Luqas/Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of יהוה is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to bring the Good News to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sightto the blind, to send away crushed ones with a release, 19 to proclaim the acceptable year of יהוה.”

When we understand these words in their original meanings it further helps us understand that Messiah came to take away the smokescreen of tradition and man-made dogmas, and then we are able to clearly understand the words of Sha’ul in:

Qorintiyim Bět/2 Corinthians 3:16 “And when one turns to the Master, the veil is taken away.”

When one turns and looks intently into the Light all darkness is taken away! He came to recover our sight and cause us to take heed and see His Good News and be able to see with טוֹבtoḇ - that is ‘good and functional’ - eyes!

Kěpha teaches us that when a believer is not growing in the Master, their spiritual vision is affected (Kěpha Bět/2 Peter 1: 5-9), and they are ‘blind’ and short-sighted and have forgotten that they have been cleansed from old sins.

‘Diet’ has bearing on the condition of one’s eyesight, in a spiritual sense and a physical one, and if people do not want to ‘eat’ of the Truth and partake of the Table of the Master by keeping His Sabbaths and Feasts then they are blinded by traditions and the delusion of lawlessness! יהושע rebukes this assembly, and with this being the Living Word of Elohim, continues to rebuke the lukewarm today, as He stands at the door and knocks waiting for true hearers to open the door so that He may come in and dine with them. This, as we know is a great metaphor for us gathering on His Appointed Times and ensuring that we never neglect the gathering of the Set-Apart Ones! In many ways, we are able to clearly see as a direct pattern throughout Scripture that the Sabbath is key to us understanding the Truth, and that the keeping of the Sabbath is the ‘door’ to unlocking the great pearls of wisdom in the Word! Messiah is the Door, and He is the Master of the Sabbath, and those who stubbornly refuse to open the door of the Sabbath – that is to say that those who refuse to guard and keep the Sabbath, will be vomited out, despite their vain confessions of sufficiency in their lukewarm systems of corrupted worship!

יהושעreproves those He loves:

Ḥazon/Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I reproveand discipline. So be ardent and repent.”

The Greek word translated as ‘reprove’ is the verb ἐλέγχωelegchō – Strong’s G1651 which means, ‘to expose, convict, reprove, reprimanded, rebuke’, and the noun that comes from this verb is ἔλεγχοςelegchos – Strong’s G1650 which means, ‘reproof, test, conviction’, and is used in:

Timotiyos Bět/2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of Elohim might be fitted, equipped for every good work.”

It is through the loud and clear call of wisdom that we must hear and respond to the reproof of Elohim given to us through His Scripture – that is His complete Word and not just the parts of it that many pick and choose in order to have their ears tickled!

Sha’ul was also very clear in instructing us to reprove those who are out of line:

Timotiyos Aleph/1 Timothy 5:20 “Reprove those who are sinning, in the presence of all, so that the rest also might fear.”

We are to also reprove the works of darkness:

Eph’siyim/Ephesians 5: 11-13 “And have no fellowship with the fruitless works of darkness, but rather reprove them. 12 For it is a shame even to speak of what is done by them in secret. 13 But all matters being reproved are manifested by the light, for whatever is manifested is light.”

We need to exercise boldness and unfeigned humility when we reprove another; and today there seems to be a mental block against proper reproof for fear of offending another when correcting their behaviour, yet we need to learn to do so with love and respect, in order that we can build one another up in the Most Set-Apart faith!

Titos/Titus 2:15 “Speak these matters, urge, and reprove with all authority. Let no one despise you.”

Reproof must always be done on the basis of the pure plumb line of the Word and not on a twisted interpretation that diminishes the Word! We must not reprove another just because we do not like the way they do things, things that are not against the Torah, but must exercise proper discernment in distinguishing the set-apart and profane and when one’s actions are not set-apart but are rather profaning the Truth, then we must boldly reprove the one in error so that they learn to fear יהוה. We will not be able to reprove with all authority if we ourselves do not receive the reproof, correction and training in righteousness that the Word brings.

Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 12:7-11 “If you endure discipline, Elohim is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom a father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become sharers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Moreover, we indeed had fathers of our flesh disciplining us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they indeed disciplined us for a few days as seemed best to them, but He does it for our profit, so that we might share His apartness. 11 And indeed, no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but grievous, but afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

Often hot is understood as “to be for Elohim” and cold “to be against Elohim”, but in this instance I see both hot and cold as being good and functional, while fluctuating between the two as being abominable!!! As already mentioned, hot and cold can also be understood in the negative sense, yet what is clearly an abominable attempt at worship is the fluctuation between being zealous for doing what is good and true and being riddled with compromise and allowing obedient love for Elohim to grow cold due to lawlessness and sin!

יהושע may say, “I want you to be zealous for me” - be the ‘Pineḥas’ of our day – remember Pineḥas who turned back the wrath of Elohim from the children of Yisra’ĕl, because he was ardent with יהוה’s ardour in their midst and he rose up from among the congregation and took a spear in his hand and put to death the Yisra’ĕlite man and Miḏyanite woman that had committed whoring and stopped the plague in the camp!

At the same time our Master – the Aměn – may say, “I want you to be cold water to the people” – that is to bring the Besorah of Messiah and give the refreshing pure waters of life to the thirsty. Be a source, as an ambassador of Messiah, of the pure life giving water of His Good News and coming Reign!

If we are not being hot or cold for our Master and Elohim – TheAměn, then we make the stomach of our Master turn, so much so that He cannot stand our presence and will vomit us up, rendering us as not part of His Body and Bride!

As we consider these clear words of The Aměn – The Elohim of Truth – given to a lukewarm people, may we be on guard against apathy and the danger of our love for Elohim growing cold due to compromise, lawlessness and sin, and do our utmost to stay in our Master and guard our garments from becoming defiled and be found naked before Him!

Ḥazon/Revelation 16:15 “See, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who is staying awake and guarding his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

The one who overcomes shall sit with the Master on His Throne, which is a clear metaphor of His True Bride that will rule with Him, and we have discussed on many occasions that Yisra’ĕl means, ‘one who rules with El’. יִשְׂרָאֵלYisra’ĕl – Strong’s H3478 which means, ‘he who prevails, overcomes with El’, comes from the primitive root words, אֵלĕl – Strong’s H410 which means, ‘Mighty, power, shortened form of Elohim – Mighty One’ and the root word verb שָׂרָהsarah – Strong’s H8280 which means, ‘to persist, exert oneself, persevere, wrestle, contend’, is spelt the same as the name of Aḇraham’s wife, שָׂרָה ‘Sarah’ – Strong’s H8283 which means ‘princess or noble woman’; which is the feminine of the word שַׂרsar – Strong’s H8269 which means, ‘prince, captain, chieftain, ruler’!

Only those who endure and overcome in Messiah, by the guarding and keeping of His Torah, will receive a crown of life, to rule with Him as princes in His Kingdom! As overcomers we are called to be ardent (hot) and repent from dead works and be faithful ambassadors of His Coming Reign, bringing the refreshing news of the Living Waters of Life (cold) that come from the only One and True Aměn!

As you look into the mirror of the Word tonight, what do you see and what do you hear? How refreshing and zealous is your life in the Master? Have you found yourself growing cold in your love for Elohim through compromise and you stubbornly refuse to seek His righteousness because of self-pity and pride? Have you been zealous in your proclamation of the Truth, ready to reprove the fruitless works of darkness, or have you found yourself engaging in works of darkness that you should not be? Hear this clear rebuke and warning given to believers today and strive to be true overcomers in Messiah, who clothes us, feeds us and leads us in His Truth!

As we consider the words being spoken to the assembly in Laodikeia, let us hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies and be on guard against falling away from our steadfast position in our Rock and Refuge, our Master and Elohim, יהושע Messiah! As we see the crazy blasphemous living by many who claim to be believers yet are clearly being lukewarm in their attempt at worship, for they trust more in themselves and the riches of this world, as they reject the need to The Master’s Sabbaths and Feasts due to trusting in man-made doctrines of humanism that teaches a compromised standard that is accepted by most, let us hold fast to being a faithful remnant that manifests the fragrance of Messiah – being ardent for our King and never letting our loving obedience grow cold!

‘HOT OR COLD – NO HALF MEASURES ACCEPTABLE!’

Hear the call to overcome!

יהוה bless you and guard you; יהוה make His face shine upon you and show you favour; יהוה lift up His face to you and give you Shalom!